2 Timothy 1:7
“For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and a sound mind.”
Jesus said, “Who the Son makes free, is free indeed!” How many of us are not walking in our birthright?”….which is the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free. If we are still operating in fear and bondage we have not traded our shackles of bondage for the truth we need to have, in order to experience the “Royal Exchange” and walk in our birthright. Not having a spirit of fear is related to the “glory of God found in the face of Jesus Christ.” Can I stand in the transparency of what I am before Him,and look the Lord Jesus in the face, or do I, like Adam in the Garden of Eden, try and hide from Him?
If I have the truth of my “undoneness” and need of a Saviour, He will meet me where I am, to change me by the Indwelling Christ, and move me on to where He is. This takes place incrementally, “line upon line, precept upon precept.”
In the record of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:25 onwards, Jesus encourages us to “take no thought for your life….” and to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and He will take care of our needs. The greater includes the lesser. Scripture challenges us to “Cast all our care on Him,” because He cares for us – Our Heavenly Father loves us!
Our fears are based on knowledge but the goal is to KNOW GOD and nothing else.
NEVER TAKE COUNSEL OF YOUR FEARS! Our Counsel is described in Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Our understanding is the limited knowledge we have for a given situation, but only God is omniscient.
1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.” When I am perfected in love I am transformed by that love into a life of peace and rest, independent of my circumstances in life. The Indwelling Christ manifests and becomes my identity, instead of my fears being my identity. As God has not given us the spirit of fear, it is wrong to anticipate it or dwell on it in my reasoning and unbelief.
Unbelief is the stock, in trade, of a lying heart. God calls unbelief evil….strong language describes His abhorrence of it because it demonstrates my lack of trust in Him. Hebrews 3:12, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
THE REASON OF THE HEART IS THE TREASON OF THE HEART.
Fear is always built on a lie and indicates where I am not trusting God.
Deal with the lie and fear will die.
Deal with fear and fear stays near!
Fear always brings something that opposes the life of God in me. It is the devil’s ground for planting. Fear can produce ill health in mind and body. Scripture talks of “…men’s hearts failing them for fear.”
According to Jesus, our heart (not physically), is the seat of our believing, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” The Lord encourages us to keep our hearts on the right track. Our countenance displays an outward expression of our inward condition. Our facial expression is like a window to the soul. So often we try to deal with externals when the problem is within! “….keep your heart with all diligence.”
Colossians 1:18 “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence.” When Christ has the pre-eminence in our life, then change will surely come. Jesus IS Lord….but I have to choose to abandon myself to Him and crown Him as Lord of MY heart. When this transaction takes place it will be said of us:
“My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest,” – the hallmark of a man at peace with his God, even amidst his daily trials! This is the glory of God.
